accident rates are dropping in russia, africa, latin america, the caribbean, and asia. despite the dramatic improvement experts say there's danger here. just when you start to think, it can't happen again, is often when you're the most vulnerable. tom cocostello, nbc news, washington. >>> stocks provided many 401(k)s, pensions, and other investors pretty good news last year. despite the bad economic news. traders get the day off but the dow was up 7.3%. the nasdaq up a healthy almost 16%. the s&p 500 had its best finnish three years soaring to over 13%. starting today the minimum wage goes up between 10 and 35 cents an hour for workers in ten states having an impact on the income of about 1 million workers. >>> get ready for groceries to get more expensive this year. if they're not expensive enough, prices are expected to rise. >>> ford can climb to have the best-selling car around the globe with the ford focus claiming the top spot. did not know that. >>> for what it's worth, a few so-called financial experts tell our friends at cnbc apple stock could grow as much as 2